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New York is simultaneously one of the centers of the world wine trade and a major wine producer. Its wine making tradition goes back almost four centuries, to 1647, when Dutch colonists first planted European vinifera grapes on Manhattan Island. The original vineyards failed, falling victim to the omnipresent grape louse, phylloxera. Additional attempts over the 18th century proved equally unsuccessful.

Starting in the early 19th century, winemakers turned to native American grape varieties. By 1818, the first commercial wineries relying exclusively on American grape varieties were established in Chautauqua County. Nine years later the first commercial vineyard in the Hudson Valley, at Croton Point, began operating.

By 1829, grape cultivation was introduced into the Finger Lakes district. In 1853, the Concord grape variety was introduced into New York, where it rapidly became the mainstay of the state’s fledging wine industry—a position that it has maintained to this day.

The Brotherhood winery, established in the Hudson River Valley in 1839, is America’s oldest continuously operating winery.

In 1873, New York’s Great Western Champagne received a gold medal at an international wine competition in Vienna, beating out its better-known European rivals, becoming the first American wine to win a gold medal in a European wine competition.

Starting in the 1950s, New York winemakers began to experiment with European vinifera varieties, especially with so-called French-American hybrids—crosses between European vinifera and American labrusca grapes. Some of which, like Seyval, Vidal and Baco Noir, are now cultivated all over the world; although technically still banned by the EU to produce fine wines.

New York’s Finger Lakes region became the center of New York’s vinifera production, and remains so to this day.

Today, New York is the third largest producer of wines in the US. It is behind only California and Washington if both American and European grape varieties are considered but ranks number five behind Oregon and Pennsylvania if only European vinifera varieties are counted.

Finger Lakes Region

The Finger Lakes region is a 4,000-square mile, triangular shaped region in the Allegheny Plateau, located roughly between Rochester and Syracuse, with the apex at Corning. The plateau consists of layers of calcareous shale in the north and alternating layers of sandstone and shale in the south. The soft sandstone is easily eroded, producing an undulating landscape of hilltops, divided by long, narrow valleys 1,000 to 1,200 feet below.

Over successive ice ages, during the last several million years, massive ice sheets carved out long, narrow depressions that subsequently filled up with water and became the region’s Finger Lakes. The three AVAs consist of the Finger Lakes district, Seneca and Cayuga. The latter two are located within the Finger Lakes AVA.

The soil consists of a shallow layer of topsoil perched on top of sloping shale beds. The soil is fast draining and low in nutrients, ideal for quality grape production. The steep slope drains cold air to the valley bottoms, while the lakes have the dual benefit of being a store of warm water in the autumn and winter, moderating the more extreme effects of the regions winter weather and autumn frosts while, at the same time, being cooler in the summer, also moderating the extremes of summer weather.

One added benefit is that in the spring the lakes are slow to warm up, delaying bud break and reducing the chance that early buds could be damaged by a spring frost. Lake Ontario, only about 30 miles to the north, also helps to moderate the weather.

The region sits at roughly 43 degrees north latitude, which puts it just slightly south of Bordeaux and Oregon’s North Willamette Valley and well south of Europe’s traditional Riesling producing areas. The growing season ranges from 190 days (Seneca Lake) to 205 days (Cayuga Lake).

At 2,500 growing degree days (the sum total of degrees above 50 F between April 1 and October 30), the region has a growing environment slightly warmer than France’s Loire Valley or California’s central coast, even though winter temperatures are much colder.

The region has 129 wineries, covering 9,432 acres of vineyards, and is New York’s largest wine producing region. It grows a combination of American labrusca grapes, French-American hybrids and European vinifera varieties.

Riesling was first planted in New York State in the 1950s, and is the most widely planted of the vinifera varieties. Over the last several decades, it has become the signature grape of the Finger Lakes region. Roughly 85% of the Riesling produced in New York comes from the Finger Lakes area.

Finger Lakes Vineyard Overlooking Canandaigua Lake

In New York, Riesling is produced both as a dry wine and as a sweet late harvest or ice wine. Below are tasting notes on six Finger Lakes Riesling wines.

Lamoreaux Landing, Riesling, 12.9% ABV, 750 ml, $15

This is a bone-dry Riesling, with a distinct mineral note of wet stone followed by lemon zest and lime on the nose. The crisp acidity highlights notes of peach and apricot stone fruit, with hints of tropical fruit. A nicely balanced wine, reminiscent of Alsatian Rieslings, which pairs with a wide selection of foods and serves equally well as an aperitif.

Thirsty Owl Wine Company, 2016 Riesling, 12.1% ABV, 750 ml, $15

With 5g of sugar (.5%), this is still technically a dry wine, although the sugar gives it a bit more noticeable palate weight and texture. The must is fermented slowly, using three different yeasts, and then stopped by chilling to leave a touch of residual sugar. On the nose, there are notes of citrus and ripe apple. The palate offers more juicy apple notes, along with lime and lemon zest and hints of dried apricot, as well as a hint of sweetness at the end.

Dr. Konstantin Frank, 2016 Riesling, 12% ABV, 750 ml, $15

Konstantin Frank was a driving force in the introduction of vinifera varieties to New York State and the first to plant Riesling in the Finger Lakes region. The Konstantin vineyards are among the oldest vinifera vineyards in the US.

The Dr. Konstantin Frank uses specially selected German yeasts and undergoes an extended low temperature fermentation. On the nose, there is a distinct wet stone minerality, with notes of lemon and lime, along with hints of peach. The palate offers crisp acidity, with notes of grapefruit pith, lemon and lime, along with apple, pear and peach. With 5 grams of residual sugar, this wine is technically dry, but retains a slight hint of sweetness on the finish. Another Riesling that can be paired with a broad range of foods but will also serve as an excellent aperitif.

Fox Run Vineyards, 2015 Riesling, 11.7% ABV, 750 ml, $15

Another dry to off dry Riesling, this one with 8 grams of residual sugar. On the nose, it offers the wet stone minerality that seems typical of many Finger Lakes Rieslings, along with citrus zest and ripe green and stone fruit. The palate offers apple and pear notes, along with lemon zest, lime and a bit of peach. The wine offers good acidity with a satiny texture.

At 19 grams of residual sugar (1.9%), this Riesling is vinified in a classic German, Kabinett-style. Technically, it’s what the Germans call a feinherb; a wine that is a touch too sweet to be classified as a halbtrocken or half-dry.

On the nose, there is candied citrus zest, some baked apple and peach notes, along with hints of fresh pineapple. The palate offers a distinctive sweetness, with notes of sweet lemon marmalade, peach and pineapple flavors. The sweetness, however, fades quickly. The wine has the soft texture and palate weight typically associated with higher levels of residual sugar. Pair it with spicy foods, white meats and cheese.

Sheldrake Point, 2015 Riesling, Finger Lakes, 13.1% ABV ,750 ml. $15

At 3% residual sugar (30 grams/liter), this wine is right on the boundary between a German style Kabinett and a Spatlese. On the nose, there are honeyed, grapey notes, along with candied orange zest, baked apple, as well as stone and tropical fruit. There is also a spicy, slightly peppery note, along with a hint of wet stone minerality.

On the palate, there is a pronounced weight and texture. The acidity is well integrated and highlights a honeyed sweetness of baked apple, peach and pineapple.

These are all excellent Rieslings, featuring a variety of styles from dry to semi-sweet. Stylistically they inhabit a middle ground between bone dry Alsatian style Rieslings and their sweeter German neighbors. If there is a typical Finger Lakes style, it would be a dry Riesling, with a hint of wet stone minerality that features aromas and flavors of citrus and green fruit, along with stone fruits and occasionally tropical fruits. There is enough residual sugar to give the wines a more pronounced palate weight and texture and to impart a lingering note of sweetness that complements nicely the slightly bitter note on the finish.

Finger Lake Rieslings are little known, and all too often ignored by wine enthusiasts, yet they offer an intriguing aroma and flavor profile, and are exceedingly well priced. Both the region and its wines are well worth exploring.

I have been writing and speaking about wines and spirits for 20 years. Along the way I became a winemaker, Oregon Pinot Noir; a judge for various international

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I have been writing and speaking about wines and spirits for 20 years. Along the way I became a winemaker, Oregon Pinot Noir; a judge for various international competitions, among them the Irish Whisky Awards and the International Wine and Spirits Competition; wrote a book on Scotch Whisky: Its History, Production and Appreciation and working on one on Tequila. I also earned the Diploma in Wines and Spirits from the WSET. Have tasted a lot of wines and spirits, from 200-year-old ports to centuries old Cognacs to many of the world’s oldest whiskies. I also write about the dusty, forgotten places of the world, the ones that reek of history and whose stories still resonate in the 21st century. The rest of the time I cover international politics. An eclectic combination to be sure, then again, the state of the world would drive anyone to drink. Sláinte